September 14th 2011 my sweet Zina turned 6!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY ZINA!
Every time I think of a 6yr old I hear my Grandpa Keeler's voice in my head, "Oh your sick! I'm sorry to hear that!" "No Grandpa I'm six." "I know I heard you, I'm so sorry your sick."
:)
It was one of his favorite jokes.
So of course I used it on Zina.
For her birthday she requested that we go ice skating so ice skating we went.
I love ice skating.
a lot.
The kids LOVED skating.
It's weird to me that we had to go to Provo to skate and will have to all winter long. I guess you know you're from Canada when you think it's weird that every little town doesn't have it's own ice rink.
What's wrong with you people!
:)
Zina was very particular about her cake. She designed it right down to the order of the stripes and loved it all.
The Thomas Clan!
The next day Zina and I headed to Salt Lake for her "Birthday Date" and since it was Grandma Judy's birthday we invited her to come too.
I was so excited for this trip since I had been wanting to do it for so long.
We ate lunch at the Lion House where Zina Diantha Huntington Young lived and then toured around (much to the workers dismay!) Then we went and toured the Beehive house and visited the Salt Lake Cemetery where Zina Young is buried. So much history. I loved it and I'm pretty sure Zina was duly impressed with her namesake.
She was bored on the drive up so I gave her the camera.
:)
This was in one of the back rooms of the Lion House. There was a very special feeling as we walked through with Zina. I remember laying in my hospital bed wondering what to name my sweet baby and then reading through Zina Young's journal and feeling impressed that this was an amazing and strong woman and that that new sweet spirit from heaven would also need to be amazing and strong during her lifetime. I just knew her name was supposed to be Zina.
Here is a short history of this amazing woman.
(it may be to long for all my blog readers. Sorry. skip over it if you like but I love it!)
The third General Relief Society President, after Emma and Eliza, was Zina D. H. Young.
Zina Diantha Huntington was born in Watertown, New York, on January 31, 1821. Zina’s uncle, Samuel Huntington, was a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Zina would be the second of the “Four Zina’s”; her mother being first. Her daughter, Zina Young Card would in turn name her own daughter Zina.
One day in her early teens, Zina came home from school and found a book on the windowsill. She looked through it, feeling the Spirit rush through her, and instantly knew it was true. After being baptized by Hyrum Smith, at the age of fifteen, she felt the gift of tongues fall on her and was able to see it manifested throughout her life. Emmeline reports, in Zina’s biography, that “she has perhaps as perfect a gift of interpretation of tongues as any person in the church”.
Zina’s family traveled to Kirtland where they met Joseph Smith, who had recently purchased four Egyptian mummies. To keep them safe from the mob, the mummies were hidden under Zina’s bed, for a time.
Her family moved with the Saints to Missouri and were expelled a year later. Cholera descended upon the uprooted Saints and Zina’s entire family became sick. All recovered but her mother. Joseph offered comforting words to her at this time, including bearing witness of a mother in heaven.
In Nauvoo, Zina married Henry Bailey Jacobs, of whom she bore two sons. Around this same time, she was sealed for eternity to Joseph Smith with Henry’s approval. Her husband, Henry, served many missions, but moved on to California without Zina. Many of Joseph’s wives were given to Brigham Young, upon his death, so Zina joined Brigham’s family, having been sealed to him for time only, to the SL Valley. On the way west, she gave birth to her second son.
Zina’s father would stay in Mt. Pisgah, to help the Saints there. Getting sick, he died within eighteen days. Thus, her mother died in the expulsion from Missouri; her father died in the expulsion from Nauvoo.
The first few years in the SL Valley were hard as the settlers worked to build homes, plant gardens, and hand make everything they needed. Zina spent her time with household duties such as making candles, soap, and clothing. Clothing included carding, spinning, dyeing, knitting, weaving, and sewing. Zina particularly enjoyed visiting the sick, where she would give them blessings of health, and mother them to wellness. She was a sought after midwife. She had several favorite home remedies, one which involved “good sized live toads”.
As a wife of Brigham Young, Zina gave birth to her third child, a daughter. As well, she took over the raising of the children of a sister-wife, at her passing.
When the Relief Society was organized in the SL Valley, Zina traveled along with Eliza to visit, organize, and help where she could, later to serve as her first counselor. Many times they would call a meeting of the women. After the first meeting, the attendees would shift position (because it was mostly the same women involved) for a meeting of the Primary, or Young Women’s Association, or Sericulture, or Suffrage; always Eliza and Zina at the head, conducting, organizing, and motivating. They were true sisters, besides being sister-wives.
Eliza was known as the head, while Zina was known as the heart, of the female organization. The women loved Zina for her love for them. She would seek out the poor, lift the weary, aid the sick, and love them all.
When the women wanted to buy fancier cloth for fancier dresses, Brigham Young’s answer was to buy them silk worms and tell them to make the silk themselves. In 1876, Zina would be called as the first, and only, President of the Deseret Silk Association; it would last for fifty years. Zina was squeamish about the little worms and would scream every time she had to deal with them.
Because of ill health, Zina spent some time in Hawaii, where she could recuperate. She spent much time organizing a Relief Society, helping the poor and the sick, and blessing the lives of the sisters.
Zina was able to take a trip back east to visit her family; a brother she hadn’t seen in forty years, and other relatives. She was able to gather records for genealogical purposes to do work in the temple. She also attended national suffrage meetings. Being heavily involved with the Utah movement, she requested time to speak. She was turned down, because of her allegiance to Mormonism and Polygamy. Ironically, coming from Utah, she was the only one there who could vote, yet she was denied the opportunity to speak.
In 1888, at age sixty-seven, Zina was called as the general president of the Relief Society. Her counselors would be Bathsheba W. Smith and Jane S. Richards, Sarah M. Kimball and Emmeline B. Wells served as secretaries. Zina served as president for thirteen years. During this time she also served as temple matron.
Zina was visiting her daughter in Cardston, Alberta, Canada, when she suffered a stroke. She died on August 28, 1901.
-excerpt taken from http://www.ldswomenofgod.com/blog/?p=1058
Zina was most excited when we arrived at the cemetery. She immediately spotted her name (several times as Zina and Brigham Young's daughter is also named Zina :) and was excited to look at all the headstones.
And this is me getting all the family history that we couldn't remember from my mom.
:)
What a great trip. Just looking at these pictures makes me want to do it all over again.
Which I'm pretty sure we will.
Mom? Attena?
